The Environmentalist's Bible
Does Dominion Equal Domination?

I am a professor of Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. I also direct the Au Sable Institute, which provides courses and programs in Christian environmental stewardship to over 50 colleges and universities.

People often ask me what inspires my environmentalism, and my answer almost always surprises them: The Bible. Yes, the Bible is my favorite environmental reference book. Everything I believe about caring for the earth comes straight from its remarkable teaching. Contrary to the popular belief, held by Christians and non-Christians alike, that the Bible has little to say about the environment, other than what many regard as a command to dominate it (Genesis 1:26–28), the Bible offers a wealth of perspective on what the earth is and how we are to treat it.

Examine these three verses that appear in the first chapter of the first book of the Bible, just after God has created the world:

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. (Genesis 1:26–28 KJV, italics mine)

Unfortunately, because of the word “dominion,” this text is often cut out of the Bible and used as an argument for an unbalanced environmental policy that favors production over conservation. And, indeed, the Hebrew word radah really does translate into “have dominion” or “rule.”

But what’s missing in this argument is context, and context is of the essence. When we pull back and locate this verse correctly, we discover that the dominion described here has to do with service to creation rather than a license for abuse of God’s earth.
Jesus, the incarnation of God as a man, is our best example of what ruling should look like for us. If we are to truly understand how to have dominion over the earth, we must look at the way Jesus exercised his dominion. From Philippians 2:5–8:

“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death even death on a cross!”

Humility. Servanthood. Sacrifice. This is the kind of dominion exemplified by Jesus. His dominion is achieved by laying down his power, becoming a servant to those on the earth and giving up his life. This is the demeanor we need to emulate when we talk about dominion.

In Genesis 2:15 (“And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and keep it.”), we find that dominion really means to serve and to keep the garden. "Keep" is a translation of the Hebrew word, shamar as in Aaron’s blessing, “The Lord bless you and keep you”(Numbers 6:24). The shamar kind of keeping does not aim to keep things in a preserved, inactive, uninteresting state, like one might keep a museum piece or pickles in a jar. Instead it seeks to keep things with all of their vitality, energy and beauty. It includes nurturing things, helping them become stronger, healthier and keeping their best interests in mind. It is a rich and full keeping that God expects people to bring to the garden of God.

Together with shamar, the word ‘abad also is a key word in Genesis 2:15: “And Jehovah God taketh the man and causeth him to rest in the garden of Eden, to dress [‘abad] it and to keep it.” Young’s Literal Translation of the Holy Bible translates ‘abad literally as serve. This is the same use as Joshua 24:15, “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve (‘abad).” The garden of God is to be served, not dominated. Dominion is service. Dominion is stewardship.

Unfortunately, when we use the word dominion, we often think of domination—service of self at the expense and destruction of earth and its creatures. Too often, when people think of the Biblical idea of stewardship, they remember colonialism, exploiting land for resources and taking without replenishing. There have been examples of this kind of dominion in our history, but this is not the idea we see advocated in Genesis and this behavior is not supported by the Bible.
Some people may say the earth is here to serve us, and it does serve us. It provides food, shade, places to rest and explore, and beauty. Some of the most loved Bible passages are the nature Psalms that rejoice over the beauty of the earth. But they also praise the hand that created it. “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hand” (Psalm 19:1). When we remember that the earth is a reflection of the creative hand of God, serving the earth becomes an expression of our thanks and appreciation.

The relationship we should have with the earth is one of reciprocal service and care. God cares for us through the earth. He hasn’t just put food in our stomachs or just provided shelter. He has given us these things through complicated ecosystems and layers of life. We continue to learn more about the earth every day, and conserving it for generations to come is as biblical as the command to love our neighbors as ourselves.